New Year’s Resolutions
Some ways to make New Year’s Resolutions more than obligatory exercise scheduled for this time of year that has little to no real value.
Being Salt and Light To The World
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light...
Love is More Than Happily Ever After
The classic fairytale ends with "and they lived happily ever after". From this and other things our culture tells us about love, we tend to think loving does not involve pain, difficulty, or suffering. And if we are doing it right and it is the right love for us, we...
Reflecting God’s Active Love
The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10 I am reading John Piper’s Advent devotional, Dawning of Indestructible Joy, and was challenged in my understanding of Luke 19.10. Piper reminds us that God “is a searching and saving God, that he is a God on...
Failure
I have a confession. I’m a perfectionist. I like things to be perfect when I am done doing them and have often wasted far more time than necessary to adjust a small detail that no one else will see. I have been frozen from action because of fear of failing and have...
God So Loved The World
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever should believe in Him should have everlasting life. John 3.16 This one verse summarizes the history of God’s relationship with the world. It tells us something about God, something about Jesus,...
Rich Young Ruler Gets a Bad Rap
A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false...
Patience
I’ve been contemplating patience. What is it? When do you need to employ it? It occurred to me that patience is needed when things are not the way you want them to be. If all was as you wanted, patience would not be necessary. On the other hand, if things are not the...
Living Like Lions
Today I talk with JR Duren, author of the book, Living Like Lions. . How did you came to write the book? I came to write the book by way of opportunism and providence. Les Stobbe, who is now my agent, turned down an autobiography I pitched. After he rejected the...
Wonder and Excitement
The family across the street caught my attention. Three grade school aged children stood on the front steps posing for pictures on the first day of the school year. They and so many other children this time of year seem filled with wonder and excitement. So many new...